Month: October 2014

“When I first selected my candidate on the electronic machine, it would not put the ‘x’ on the candidate I chose — a Republican — but it would put the ‘x’ on the Democrat candidate above it,” reported Donna Hamilton.

“This happened multiple times with multiple selections. Every time my choice flipped from Republican to Democrat. Sometimes it required four or five tries to get the ‘x’ to stay on my real selection,” the Frederick, Md., resident said Thursday.

Queen Anne County Sheriff Gary Hofmann said he encountered the problem, too.

“This is happening here as well. It occurred on two candidates on my machine. I am glad I checked. Many voters have reported this here as well,” Hofmann wrote in an email Sunday evening.

The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce was honored by the announcement that they have received a Readers’ Choice award from the publication and editors of ConventionSouth Magazine out of Gulf Shores, Alabama. ConventionSouth is a national multimedia resource for planning events in the South. The Garrett County Chamber of Commerce was selected as one of 800 nominees and one of the only 175 winners in the South.

“Over the past two years, the Garrett County Chamber of Commerce has been working on an initiative to increase group business, including meeting travel, in the Deep Creek Lake area and Garrett County, Maryland,” said Jen Durben, Group Sales & Marketing Manager. “This award is the culmination of the hard work and dedication of our area members that have provided outstanding meeting and convention services in our region. We only hope to continue to grow and thrive in this market.”

Cooling temperatures, colorful leaves and unpredictable deer ─ all surefire signs that fall is upon us. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources urges motorists to be alert for deer and other wildlife as these animals seek fall food supplies and search for mates.

Deer, especially males, are prone to traveling without concern for roadways and automobiles during the fall, which is their breeding season. Motorists need to be especially alert from sunset to dawn as deer are more active during this period.

OAKLAND — The Garrett County commissioners Wednesday unanimously approved an amendment to the Mountain Lake Park/Loch Lynn Heights sewer service area in the water and sewer master plan.

The last time the boundary was amended was in May 1982 and currently the ad valorem rate is 4 cents on $100 of the assessed value in the service area, according to Patrick Hudnall, administration and environmental chief of the Garrett County Department of Public Works Utilities Division.

“Almost all 81 percent of the properties affected by this change are currently paying that tax” said Hudnall.

John Wilson, a Mountain Lake Park resident, and another resident voiced concerns about having someone to service their sewer grinder pump.

Your recent editorial argued that “the longer we wait before embracing fracking, the better informed we will be” (“Fracking still worrisome,” Oct. 7).

Why should Maryland continue to delay when the science overwhelmingly shows that hydraulic fracturing is safe?

The Maryland departments of the environment and natural resources recently released a report that found the risk of water contamination from hydraulic fracturing is very low and is manageable under Maryland’s regulatory scheme. Your editorial acknowledges the report and its findings yet still calls for more unnecessary delay.